Cologne Bonn Airport

About Cologne Bonn Airport

Cologne Bonn Airport is an international airport in north-western Germany. It serves the country's fourth-largest city Cologne, as well as Bonn, the former capital of West Germany. In 2024, more than 10 million passengers passed through Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN). It is the first time that passenger numbers have exceeded those in 2019 and hence marks a return to pre-pandemic levels. It is the seventh-largest passenger airport in Germany and the third-largest in terms of cargo operations. By traffic units, which combines cargo and passengers, the airport is in fifth position in Germany. As of March 2015, Cologne Bonn Airport had services to 115 passenger destinations in 35 countries. The airport is named after Cologne native Konrad Adenauer, the first post-war Chancellor of West Germany. The facility covers 1,000 hectares and contains three runways. Source: "Cologne Bonn Airport" by Wikipedia contributors (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cologne_Bonn_Airport), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Edit history on the linked Wikipedia page.

Overview

Cologne Bonn Airport is the main commercial airport for Cologne, Germany. Its IATA code is CGN and its ICAO code is EDDK. The clocks here run on Europe/Berlin, the runway sits about 302 ft above sea level, and the airport is a large international gateway, with around 134 scheduled departure pairs in the public OpenFlights schedule plus onward connections through partner airlines.

Terminals and concourses

Most travellers will pass through one of a handful of terminal areas at Cologne Bonn Airport. Bigger fields tend to split domestic and international traffic into separate halls, each with its own arrivals area, immigration counters, customs and a landside check-in concourse. Signage is bilingual wherever the local language and English share the airport, and walking between terminals at Cologne's main gateway is usually possible on foot. Where the aprons stretch more than a kilometre, a shuttle bus or an automated people mover takes over.

Lounges and amenities

Lounge options at Cologne Bonn Airport match what you would expect from a large international gateway. There is normally at least one airline-run lounge for premium-cabin passengers and elite-status flyers, plus an independent or contract lounge that sells day passes and accepts programmes like Priority Pass, DragonPass, Plaza Premium and LoungeKey. Inside, you can usually count on hot food, espresso, charging at every seat, decent Wi-Fi, and showers at the busier terminals. Quiet zones, prayer rooms and family areas tend to sit landside near check-in.

Getting to and from the airport

Getting between Cologne Bonn Airport and central Cologne is straightforward. Licensed taxis queue at marked curbs outside arrivals, with metered or zoned fares posted at the rank. Ride-hail apps have a designated pickup point, often one level up at departures or in a nearby lot. Public transport varies by city. A primary gateway like this one almost always offers an express train, a metro line or a dedicated airport bus running from before the first wave of departures until after the last arrival. Long-stay parking, rental car desks and hotel shuttle stops are clustered together on the landside.

Tips for travellers

A few things worth knowing for Cologne Bonn Airport. Aim to arrive at least two hours before a domestic flight and three hours before an international one, especially during peak banks. Local time is Europe/Berlin, so plan your transfers around the time difference if you are coming in from another zone. Save a screenshot of your boarding pass before you leave the house, since terminal Wi-Fi is hit and miss when it gets busy. If you are connecting on a partner airline, check whether your bag is tagged through to the final destination, because Cologne Bonn Airport handles a mix of in-terminal and inter-terminal connections. With 134 direct destinations on the public schedule, this is a useful node for both point-to-point trips and onward connections across Germany and the wider region.

More guides for CGN

Four extra pages dig deeper into lounges, layovers, getting to and from the airport, and the terminal layout itself. Open whichever one matches the problem in front of you.

Direct destinations from CGN

These are the cities you can fly to nonstop from Cologne Bonn Airport, based on the published schedule. Tap any one to open its own terminal, lounge and route guide.